I was curious. We are currently cycling a 28 gallon tank. It is a fish-in cycle with 6 tetras. We have been staying on top of ammonia testing and water changing. I didn't consistently do Nitrite testing so that may be my mistake.

I did nitrite tests on 2-27 and 2-28 and they were 0. The ammonia started at .25 then went to .50 and has stayed there fairly consistently with a 1.0 spike Sunday night.

So far we have seen no Nitrites and have tested for them again in the past few days. All 0. My Nitrate test, however, is at a 5.0

So could I have just missed the Nitrite spike? I would expect the Nitrites to be > 0 when there is still ammonia but I am still really new at this.

Yah good call Laser, There tend to be many random things in your tap water. Even with these spikes, I wouldn't add any fish until your ammonia and nitrites are completely zeroed. I'm not quite sure where your skill level sits so disregard if you already knew. What are your nitrates?

Okay so your tank is not processing the ammonia and nitrites. I would keep on the process of cycling your tank, the ultimate goal being to get everything reading zero, except nitrates of course. Hope this helps!

How long have you been cycling? Typically the ammonia phase is first and can take 2-3 weeks on average; the ammonia spikes then drops. Nitrites follow and those can last 2-3 weeks as well. You still might be in the ammonia phase so just keep testing and wait it out a bit longer.